I discovered this wonderful dancer when I went to see La Bayadere at the Paris Opera Ballet recently.He partnered Marie-Agnes Gillot.I find him extraordinary in any point of view:esthetics , technic , artistic.<BR>Dear Cassandra , as you seem to know him well , can you tell us(we are a number in my case on the french forum ) EVERYTHING you know about this dancer.I'm completely fond of him!<BR>Thank you in advance.

Isa, I am absolutely thrilled that you and other French ballet fans have enjoyed Nikolai's dancing so much. Three of my friends travelled to Paris to see him dance La Bayadere at the new year and although they gave me their impressions, they are huge fans of his and therefore rather biased so I am particularly interested to hear the opinions of people in Paris.<P>I shall post more information about him for you tomorrow.

Recently I have read about N's dancing at the Paris Opera Ballet. Everything about him was with an exlamation mark. At the same time I have not found any positive comment about his partner - Marie-Agnes Gillot. <BR>Could anyone tell me more abour her? Is she really so bad?

Isa, here is the information I promised.<P>I first became aware of the name Nikolai Tsiskaridze from a newspaper article published shortly before the 1993 Bolshoi season at the Albert Hall. The article featured interviews with three young Bolshoi dancers making their debuts in London, Elena Andrienko, Andrei Uvarov and Nikolai. The interviewer, the dance critic Jan Murray, had spotted him in class earlier in the day and considered him outstanding and was clearly very pleased to discover that he was one of the dancers selected to feature in her report.<P>Nikolai took her to his home – one room in a communal flat which he shared with his seriously ill mother who was at that time recovering from a stroke and told her about his hopes for the future, the difficulty of his life in Moscow and the strain of supporting his sick mother. Tragically she died before the interview was actually published.<P>As I have mentioned elsewhere, I first saw him dance at the Albert Hall and was immediately impressed by his speed, his line and musicality. I was also impressed by his total immersion in every role he danced. As Mercutio he had the looks of a youth from a Renaissance work of art, as if he had stepped out of a painting by a Florentine master.<P>It was just over two years before I saw him dance again – at a children’s matinee in Moscow in the role of Prince Cherry in the ballet Cipollino. Most of the cast were named after fruit or vegetables and Nikolai’s character was an unfortunate young man locked up in a tower and rescued by a beautiful girl (Princess Magnolia). Although I had difficulty following the plot, it was highly enjoyable and the children seemed to love it.<P>I had to wait four years before seeing him again until he arrived with the company in London in 1999. He was dancing the leading role in five of their ballets that season, the most intriguing being the role of the King in Swan Lake, which was specially created for him by Vladimir Vasiliev. This was a very controversial production as Vasiliev had changed the ballet entirely and the role of the king (Seigfried’s father, a wicked but handsome sorcerer) became the focal point of the ballet instead of Odette/Odile. I can’t say that I enjoyed what Vasiliev had done, but Nikolai was quite phenomenal in the role drawing gasps from the audience for jetes with his foot touching the back of his head. This is a step Plisetskaya made popular, but the first time I had seen it performed by a man.<P>It was at this time that I first met Nikolai. When the Bolshoi comes to London they rarely announce casting, so to catch all his performances the only way I could find out the dates he was dancing was to go up to him and ask him. It was fortunate that I did, because some of the dancers had extra appearances at provincial festivals that I knew nothing about. So thanks to his information I was able to catch him in two more of his roles that summer.<P>Since then I have seen him in Moscow in Daughter of the Pharaoh, in Barcelona as Desire in Sleeping Beauty and in Giselle in Santander in addition to his performances in London this year. Other roles in his repertoire that I haven’t mentioned include Les Sylphide, James in La Sylphide, Legend of Love, Spectre de la Rose and Symphony in C. He has recently made his debut in Swan Lake as Seigfried.<P>His main teachers are Marina Semyonova (still teaching at 90+) and Nikolai Fadeyechev, in the past he rehearsed with the late Nikolai Simachev and Galina Ulanova.<P>Although stylistically Nikolai is far from being a typical Bolshoi dancer, he has always been championed by Yuri Grigorovitch, who took a keen interest in him throughout his school years and his early years in the company, giving him leading roles in his ballets when he (Nikolai) was still a teenager.<P>His hopes for the future are to dance des Grieux in Manon and the title role in Onegin. He also dreams of dancing with Sylvie Guillem, whom he adores. Above all he would like a choreographer to create a ballet for him based on Rubinstein’s opera the Demon. There is a famous picture of the Demon by the Russian artist Mikhail Vroubel and Nikolai recently had a photograph of himself published in the same pose. Here is a link to Vroubel’s picture <A HREF="http://www.phys.lsu.edu/students/alexey/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.phys.lsu.edu/students/alexey/</A> <P>So far Nikolai remains famous only in his native Russia where he has won every award under the sun, but in London his talent divides the critics and although the number of his admirers here is growing, he is still not as well known as I think he should be. Nikolai Tsiskaridze is a very individual dancer with a technique that can be described as spectacular and with interpretive skills that reveal a great heart and I sincerely hope that his success in Paris is the beginning of an international career for him.<P>

Cassandra, i'm Ileana from the French forum. Thank you for this splendid biography !<BR>I can tell you that I have just dicovered Nikolaï Tsiskaridze in La Bayadère and I really loved him ! What an exciting danser ! he has everything for him : technical virtuosity, speed, fluidity, <BR>a plenty of charisma and he gave us a splendid interpretation of Solor. And what an exquisite courtesy toward his partner !<BR>The French public really gave him an ovation ! <P>But, Anton, i'm happy to say that his partner, Marie-Agnès Gillot, was a great Nikiya !<BR>Here are a few lines from Clement CRISP :<BR>of the Financial times (january 8th) :<BR>"Marie-Agnes Gillot...is still young, and wonderfully gifted. I reported with great admiration on her debut last year in Paquita. She brings to Nikiya a grandeur of scale in step and drama that renews the role. That she has an impeccable technique we accept as natural. That she uses the generosity of her physique - long lines, unhurried extensions, a Canova-like purity - to bring nobility to the choreography, suggests how fine is her talent.<BR>At every moment, Gillot believes, and we believe with her. Here is an extraordinarily beautiful interpretation...<BR>(http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchi ... uery=dance)<P><BR>

Try this url that Ileana wants you to see - I think it will work - From Clement Crisp:<P><B>Superb combination of New Year's gifts DANCE PARIS</B><P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I take it as the happiest of omens for 2002 that the first dancing I saw in the New Year was superbly good. The Paris Opera troupe has been staging concurrent seasons at the Palais Garnier and at the Bastille. The Bastille season has meant a long run of La Bayade`re, illuminated in its closing performances by the appearance of the Moscow dancer Nikolay Tsiskaridze as Solor, with Marie-Agne`s Gillot as Nikiya.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020108001211&query=dance" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><p>[This message has been edited by Basheva (edited January 09, 2002).]

Thank you so much Cassandra for taking the time to write this long and detailed biography of Nikolai Tsiskaridze.<P>Do you know if he comes from a family of dancers?From what you said about his taking care of his sick mother when ha was a teenage , I suppose that he doesn't have any brother/sister/father?He musn't have had always a happy life , I find him very sensitive and that's why perhaps he can give so much emotion on stage and succeed to give credibility to each role he dances.<P>On another thread you said that he spoke english but he would rather speak french.Is he fluent in french?<P>I know that he dances permanently at the Bolshoi and I wonder if he has any projects to guest with other companies in the near future.I'm sure a partnership with Sylvie Guillem , another outstanding artist , would give something brilliant.The least I can say is that he has good taste.

Nikolai was an only child and I understand his mother was in her 40's when she gave birth to him. I believe his mother was a teacher and that he came from a family of academics, there were no dancers in his family and his early passion for dance seems to have caused some bemusement at first followed by acceptance.<P>Immediately before dancing in Paris Nikolai was appearing in Turin with the Bolshoi company and it was there that he told a friend of mine that after only a few weeks in France he could speak French better than English which he has been struggling with for the past ten years. I am amused that he can sing in Italian. As a student at the Bolshoi he was often on stage during opera performances and as a consequence has become a real opera buff! To answer your question though, I doubt if he is fluent in French, but all dancers are great communicators and few have difficulty with languages after a period of time.<P>I don’t have details as to when and where he is dancing next, as far as I know he will be in Moscow for the next couple of months. If I get any more news I shall certainly post it on Critical dance for his new French admirers.<BR>

To those interested to read about Nikolai Tsiskaridze I advise to look at <A HREF="http://www.balet.ru" TARGET=_blank>www.balet.ru</A> , which is a Bolshoi'e website. Choose the English Version, then click The Company, Ballet Company, Soloists Men and you will find Nikolai among them.<BR>I consider this dancer as absolutely unique for the beauty of his line, the flowing quality of his dance, soaring jumps, incomparable extensions which, in his case, look natural, and sensibility of his acting.<BR>Unfortunately, the above mentioned website is not being updated on a regular basis. It did not mention the recent Bolshoi's production of "The Queen of Spades", which Peti 'designed' on Nikolai and where he was admired by Clement Crisp in "The Financial Times" (in October); his recent triumphal appearances as Prince Desire in Turin and the most recent 3 brilliant performances of "La Bayadere" at the Opera de Paris.<BR>He will dance three times at the Bolshoi this week, then will go to Kiev for 2 galas to dance "Narcissus" and "Shacherazade", and in February he will dance in Israel.

Dear Isa,<BR>since you were keen to know EVERYTHING about Tsiskaridze, I decided to translate for you extracts from several postings, which appeared on the Russian ballet forum after his performance in "The Nutcracker" this week (15 Jan.):<BR>- The brightest event of the evening was without any doubt Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Slender like Apollo, Nikolai, with his own attitude to everything and unlimited technical abilities, suits this role perfectly. His jumps are excellent: grand jete attitude, jete entralace, and excellent foot work in the 2nd act variation, especially brise and battu. The speed of his tours during the fight with the King Rat is incredible! Good lifts in the 2nd act pas de deux, brilliant variation (accompanied by shouts 'bravo!') - everything fit his star status.<BR>- In the key scene of Act 1 - the transformation scene - the audience saw the appearance of such a Prince that young girls wait for their entire life. His Prince is a precious gem.<BR>- We were in raptures over his grand jetes, especially with a turn in attitude on croise, batterie, double assemble and even his gold-covered black hair.<BR>- A fairytale, sparkling, enchanting Prince. When Prince is disappearing in the dimmed candlelight to remain only in a beautiful dream, the Clara's feeling of sadness about both the proximity and elusiveness of the dream and her longing are shared by the entire audience.<BR>- Here as in no other role one can see his unique physical gifts and his musicality. He is music itself, beauty itself, he is absolutely unreal. The cantilena and roundedness of his movements are inconceivable. It seems he is made of a special substance which can not be real. Every time when I see him in this role, I am haunted by a thought: this is bestowed on him from above, this is a divine dance.<BR>- His Prince is the magnificent peak of this performance, its apotheosis.

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